My Couch Won’t Fit Through The Door: A Guide On How To Move Oversized Furniture

Picture this: Most of the items on your moving house checklist are crossed out, you’re all packed up, and set to move. The only thing you’ll need to do now is to haul your belongings into the moving truck that’s waiting outside your home. Everything gets loaded into the truck or van without a hitch, except for the couch in your living room that just wouldn’t fit through the door! What do you do now?!

If this has happened to you, or if you are seriously worried it might, then you’ve come to the right place! 

Moving house with oversized furniture happens more often than you think. In fact, many house moves have almost become a total disaster because of such kinds of struggle. That is why on top of massive couches that won’t fit through the door or hallway, this article will be talking about how you can move oversized furniture of all kinds, including dining tables, bed frames, pianos, and even dressers!

Take Measurements

There are quite a few things which you may do to make sure that your pieces of oversized furniture make it all the way to your new home. Before using any of these methods, though, you must get the dimensions or measurements of each item.

Using a measuring tape, you will want to determine the dimensions of your furniture (LxHxW), and how much space you have in the areas you will be passing through, such as your doorway, stairway, or hallway.

If possible, it would be ideal also to determine how much space you will have in your hallway, doorway, and stairway in your new home. You will also want to measure the floor area of the room in the new house where you want to move your furniture into.

Taking and knowing these measurements will make it much easier for you to determine if your furniture pieces are worth attempting to move.

Try Using Different Angles in Getting Your Furniture Out

Often, people would give up after realising that their furniture pieces wouldn’t fit through the door at their full length, height, and width. However, there is always the option of manoeuvring your furniture to get it through the bottleneck area.

One way of doing so is by positioning your furniture vertically. If this, however, does not do the trick, then you may have to consider positioning your oversized furniture in different angles to get them out of the tight spot.

To make moving your stuff much easier despite the awkward angles, you will want to use furniture pads or cardboard sheets to help make moving it across the floor much more manageable.

Try Squeezing It Through

If angling your furniture does not work, then you may want to try and squeeze it through the door. This method, however, will only work if you are planning on moving mostly cushioned items like couches, mattresses, and the like. 

Disassemble Your Furniture

If manoeuvring your furniture and squeezing it in to make it fit through the door doesn’t work, then you may consider disassembling some of your large furniture pieces before moving them through that narrow door or hallway.

Some things you may do are unscrew protruding parts like legs, handles, and many more. Sometimes, it’s even just as simple as taking apart the large pieces. If you are not sure about how to take apart your oversized pieces of furniture, consult a furniture specialist to help you figure it out.

Remove The Door

You may also want to consider the fact that the problem is not with your furniture, but rather your doorway itself.  So, take the door off its hinges and give your furniture that extra inch or two where it can pass through without a problem.

You may also want to consider removing part of the door frame to make extra room for your furniture. This, however, may cause property damage. This, in turn, could cause some trouble between you and your landlord or your property buyer. So, only do this when you have no other choice and if you are sure about what you are doing.

Wait To Wrap Your Furniture Until You’ve Gotten It Past The Narrow Area

Another reason why some pieces of furniture do not fit through the door is bulky wrapping material.

Understandably, you would want to cover your items in plastic or any type of wrapping to protect it from any scratches, dirt, or scuff marks. However, this is something you may want to hold off on until after you’ve manoeuvred the piece of furniture through the door frame, or wherever else it won’t fit. After all, wrapping these items may add some size or bulk to each of them.

Consider Hoisting Your Items

Who’s to say you have to transport your furniture through the door? Why not get creative instead? For example, if you’ve got a window or a balcony where your furniture pieces can fit, then you might want to attempt moving your furniture through there.

It is, however, essential to note that you will need the proper equipment and technique for this, especially if your items are coming from the upper level of a multi-storey house. There are, after all, several risks that are brought about by moving heavy and oversized furniture using this method.

Hire Furniture Movers

If none of the options above work, you can always turn to movers for hire instead. You can trust that a furniture moving company will know how to handle any oversized furniture and will have the experience to know what to do in such situations. Here is our Guide on Furniture Movers.

Aside from hauling and transporting your stuff, professional furniture removalists can provide you with an appropriately sized moving van, which means whether you’re planning one oversized item or a big house move with a lot of items, they’ll be able to accommodate you. They are also capable of packing and unpacking your belongings, and even arranging everything in your new home. That means you won’t have to lift a single finger!

If you’re worried about the costs, don’t be! Reliable movers, whether it be a man and van or a removals company, will make sure to only charge you based on the factors surrounding your move.

Ready To Start Moving Your Oversized Stuff?

If you are all set on the idea of moving your large furniture yourself, here are some DIY tips for moving pianos, moving washing machines, and moving beds which you may find useful.

Meanwhile, if you are planning on hiring a nearby man and van service or a professional removals company in your area, make sure to check out this Guide For Choosing A Moving Company and keep in mind these questions.